A flavour of China: Shanghai P1

After a 20 hour journey that involved 2 flights, 2 taxis and a train I finally touched down in to China. The sights of Shanghai Pu Dong airport were familiar second time round with a mixture of security gates and immigration desks, lined with people all impatient to get their visas checked. I visit China once again with work, to shoot some more products that would soon be incoming to our Manchester warehouse.Last time out it was December and noticeably cooler in temperature unlike now in August, averaging a humid 34 degrees. I have to admit although I haven't had much time to explore China properly I really like the people, the place and the culture change. That being said to touch back down in Manchester at the end of the trip was a fantastic feeling of being home.

On the final day of my trip I was taken to Shanghai by a colleague and shown round Yu Gardens. Built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty it is a mixture of traditional Chinese architecture and retail. At its heart there is an extensive garden and large central temple but sadly we arrived too late for the final admission to view its spectacular surroundings. Instead we scouted round the retail end of the Yu Gardens where the ground floor of the building are now full of market stalls and shops selling anything from chopsticks to stunning silk robes. The smell of cooking fills the air at every turn, with many stalls cooking all manner of weird and wonderful concoctions.

Shanghai is an interesting mixture of old and new. Modern meets traditional. Skyscrapers touch the clouds in the financial district whilst traditional pagodas and architecture adorn small areas still clinging to the past. I'd love to spend some more time in this great city. I feel there is much more to explore than what I can cram in to a 5 hour visit. Shanghai I'll be back.